The New Moon

Does the moon glory in and of itself? God forbid! The glory of the moon is the sun. The "Sun of Righteousness" is the glory of the Church. The moon possesses no life in itself and produces no light of itself. As a dead body, the moon travels its prescribed course ordained by the Creator.

There is no deviation from the path. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye appear with Him in glory...ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him [the new man]." Colossians 3:3,4,9,10.

"And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion ...'". Genesis 1:26. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:11.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure...That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." Philippians 2:13,15. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16.

"Trials patiently borne, blessings gratefully received, temptations manfully resisted, meekness, kindness, mercy, and love habitually revealed, are the lights that shine forth in the character in contrast with the darkness of the selfish heart, into which the light of life has never shone." (The Mount of Blessing, p.44).

The "Sun of Righteousness" says, "Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14. But "without Me ye can do nothing." John 15:5. "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [the Baptist]. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light...He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light." John 1:6-8.

In this respect John the Baptist was a "lesser light"--as it is written of him, "...to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:79.

So we conclude that the moon has significant meaning in symbolizing the humanity of the church and the church's function as "a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness...". Romans 2:19. Every true believer catches the beams from the Morning Star and transmits the light to those who sit in darkness, whether they be in their own neighborhood or in regions beyond. Christ and His people are co-partners in the great work of saving the world.

The New Moon is understood by Christ's Church to be His sign of humility and our dependence on Him for life, both now and forever. The Ordinance of Humility and the Lord's Supper are observed monthly to keep fresh in our minds the scenes of Calvary and the coming day of redemption and the soon appearing of our blessed Savior. We eat of the Tree of Life (in symbol) every New Moon Day because Christ is our life--we partake of the flesh and blood of the Sin-pardoning Redeemer.

This is eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life. The living oracles of God, "It is written", are leaves of the Tree of Life, which human beings are to eat in order to gain spiritual life. As we eat the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, they become unto us eternal life, "The words that I speak unto you", He said, "they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). The restoring, vital current from Christ heals the wounds that sin has made. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:3.

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